Rookies impress at national cross country meet

McMaster rookie Maddy McDonald (Toronto) switched allegiance momentarily on the weekend and claimed the bronze medal in the junior division of the National Cross Country Championships while competing for her club, the University of Toronto Track Club.

The first-year Kinesiology student ran extremely well in muddy conditions in Vancouver. With her third place finish, she has qualified to represent Canada at the North America/Caribbean Athletic Congress Championships in Mandeville, Jamaica in January 2013.

If her team does well, McDonald will likely compete at the World Cross Country Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland in March.

Another Marauder rookie, Raquel Burgess (Goodwood, Ont.), also competed in the junior women’s race for the Greater Uxbridge Club and place 76th overall.

In the junior men’s race, McMaster freshman Luke Charbonneau (Everett, Ont.) represented the South Simcoe Dufferin Club and finished in 37th place.

Star cross country runner Lindsay Carson (Cambridge) also participated at the national meet, running for

Athletics Toronto. She placed 10th in the senior women’s race. The fifth-year veteran is the eighth eligible athlete in the selection pool for the Canadian team for the NACAC Championships in Jamaica. Six women will be named to the team.

More details about the Canadian Cross Country Championships can be found at http://www.xcountry.athletics.ca/?lang=en.